Designing Furniture (New Best of Fine Woodworking Series)

Rating:
Summary: Steps to Fine Wood Work
Review: As I've mentioned before the good thing about the 'Best of Fine Woodworking' series is that the articles are almost consistently good. The authors are drawn from the best of today's practitioners and teachers of woodworking, the writing carefully crafted for depth and clarity, and the quality of illustration is outstanding. In fact the only complaint I have ever had is that articles are often presented in a disorganized fashion, which can be frustrating for the reader with some specific information need in mind.

This time I can't even complain about that. Instead the articles are divided up into sections on 'Finding Design Inspiration', 'Developing Designs and Organizing Projects', 'Construction by Design', 'Designing Furniture', and 'Designing for Form and Function.' Admittedly, these are not perfectly clear distinctions, but as you look through the volume you can get a feel for why the distinctions have been made.

The design application articles are really the meat of the book. Articles like 'Joining Legs to Aprons' and 'Side Board Strategies,' are breathtaking and their detail. Be warned that Fine Woodworking doesn't believe in cutting corners. The joinery is both traditional and painstaking and nobody balks at a complicated task. But whether you are reading for inspiration or for good practical guidance, you will fine much of that here.


Rating:
Summary: This is a must have book for all woodworkers.
Review: Though its no secret that I am a big fan of the Taunton Press, I feel that this book stands out as one of their best. Having been a serious home woodworker for a decade now, I benefitted greatly from the information contained in this book. As always, the illustrations and color photography are well done and often stunning. The editors did a great job of deciding what subjects to cover and then finding just the right articles to cover those subjects.

The five major areas covered in this book are: design inspiration, design development, "construction by design", designing furniture, and designing for style and function. In just these five areas, there is a wealth of information that will help woodworkers of any level, from understanding elements of style to designing your own sideboard. I especially liked the tips given in the article "Models Help Projects Succeed".

No matter if you are a novice or a self proclaimed expert, there is something of interest here for you. Highly recommended!